US President Donald Trump has arrived in Texas as part of a visit to two cities traumatised by mass shootings that left 31 people dead.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark from Air Force One upon arrival at El Paso International Airport following last weekend's mass shootings. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP
A gunman in El Paso shot dead 22 people on Saturday. Much of El Paso identifies as Hispanic and the suspect is thought to be the author of a text posted online which said "this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas".
Mr Trump came to Texas from Dayton, Ohio, where he had visited a hospital to meet survivors of a shooting in which nine people died just 13 hours after the El Paso attack.
Outside the hospital, protesters flew a "baby Trump" balloon and held signs reading "Do Something", "Save our city" and "You are why", Reuters news agency reports.
Mr Trump and his wife Melania were met at the El Paso airport by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and El Paso mayor Dee Margo before being driven away.
They are due to visit first responders, hospital staff, victims and families at the city's University Medical Center.
Mr Trump said before leaving Washington that he was concerned about "the rise of any group of hate ... whether it's white supremacy ... other kind of supremacy".
In a speech on Monday, he said: "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.
"These sinister ideologies must be defeated," he added. "Hate has no place in America."
Mr Trump has been accused, however, of stoking hatred against Hispanic people. The El Paso shooter's writing echoed some of the US president's language, with Mr Trump having frequently used the term "invasion" to describe the situation on the US-Mexico border.
Photo: Mark RALSTON / AFP
The Democratic congresswoman who represents El Paso, Veronica Escobar, is refusing to meet with him, saying his "racist and hateful words & actions" had caused pain to her community and her country.
Ms Escobar and Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke, who grew up in El Paso, attended an "El Paso Strong" rally where Mr O'Rourke said the president was "vilifying" immigrants.
Earlier, he accused Mr Trump of inspiring the attack through racism. Mr Trump had mocked the candidate's childhood Spanish nickname "Beto".
As the president was travelling to El Paso, Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden also attacked Mr Trump, accusing him of fanning "the flames of white supremacy".
Trump's mental health focus critcised
Police have still to establish a conclusive motive for the Dayton attack but say they have uncovered evidence "that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies".
Attempts by Mr Trump and others to link the shootings to mental illness have been criticised by healthcare professionals.
"Mental illness and hatred pull the trigger, not the gun," Mr Trump said in his speech on Monday. Calling for a reform of mental health laws, he called mass killers "mentally ill monsters".
On Wednesday, the president said he did not "want guns in the hands of sick people" and was "looking to do background checks".
Fellow Republican Texas governor Mr Abbott said after the El Paso attack that mental health was a "large contributor to any type of violence or shooting violence".
Photo: Mark RALSTON / AFP
In a statement condemning the gun attacks however, the American Psychiatric Association warned against stigmatising mentally ill people.
"It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of people with mental illness are not violent and far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators of violence," it said.
"Rhetoric that argues otherwise will further stigmatise and interfere with people accessing needed treatment. Individuals can also be emboldened to act violently by the public discourse and divisive rhetoric."
As well as advocating mental health gun control reforms, Mr Trump called for the death penalty for those who committed mass murder and more bi-partisan co-operation over gun laws.
- BBC